- Writer: Joshua Williamson
- Artist: Xermanico
- Colorist: Romulo Fajardo Jr
- Letterer: Tom Napolitano
- Cover Artist: Mitch Gerards
- Variant Cover: Bryan Hitch and Alex Sinclair
- Editors: Diego Lopez and Mike Cotton
Main Cover: In the foreground on the left is Superman of Earth-23, facing off against Darkseid on the right. Behind them are heads of the various characters featured in the issue, evoking the cover of CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #5. I’ll split them into quarters and to left to right, top to bottom within those quarters:
Top left: Thomas Wayne; Flash; Cameron Chase; Green Lantern (GL) Alan Scott; Obsidian; Damage; Jade.
Top right: Mr Bones; Psycho-Pirate; X-Tract; Machinehead.
Bottom left: Atom Smasher; unknown; unknown; Power Girl; Wildcat; Captain Carrot; Roy Harper; Aquawoman; Mary Marvel.
Bottom right: Unknown; Fate; Dr Sivana; Jokero; Lady Quark; Superwoman; Magog.
Variant Cover: Nice and straightforward, this is Darkseid.
Page 1 – Panel 1: This is the Flash who has been trapped on Earth-Omega for the entirety of this series. The line “Worlds will die” was used extensively in the advertising for CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS.
Page 1 – Panel 2: A brief moment of lucidity before . . .
Page 1 – Panel 3: . . . the Psycho-Pirate’s commands him to continue running in the belief that he is trying to save someone.
Page 1 – Panel 4: And what is he saving?
Pages 2 and 3: The Multiverse! It’s the final issue and the first big spread that needs a numbered key for the figures as follows:
1) Thomas Wayne 2) Machinehead 3) Power Girl 4) Lady Quark 5) Jade 6) Damage 7) Dr Sivana 8) Obsidian 9) GL Scott 10) Darkseid 11) Roy Harper 12) Fate 13) Aquawoman 14) X-Tract 15) Mary Marvel 16) Superdoom 17) Superwoman 18) Superman 19) Cameron Chase 20) Mr Bones 21) Atom Smasher 22) Captain Carrot 23) Wildcat 24) Magog 25) Jokero. The other figures, the dark silhouettes, are shadow demons.
Darkseid’s rebirth and the end of the Quintessence happened in INFINITE FRONTIER #0. His search for the Anti-Life Equation has been his defining characteristic for decades, but apparently he’s found something more powerful.
Page 4 – Panel 1: Flash is being used to break through the Multiversal barrier, allowing Darkseid to use the Omega Lantern – Roy Harper – to control this greater power. Flash can be seen in the background, running on the cosmic hamster wheel in which the Psycho-Pirate imprisoned him.
Page 4 – Panel 2: Obsidian and Jade attempt a rescue.
Page 4 – Panel 3: Darkseid refers to Jade as Starheart, a reference to the mystical power that gives her her abilities.
Page 5 – Panels 1 and 2: As shadow demons attack, Jade provides covering fire while Obsidian confronts Roy.
Page 5 – Panel 3: Obsidian has had his share of troubles, as he mentions, at one time using his dark powers to battle his own father and the Justice Society, so he has some experience of what Roy’s going through.
Page 5 – Panel 4: Superwoman battling Mary Marvel.
Page 5 – Panel 6: Jokero using a ring construct of Joe Chill to shoot at Captain Carrot.
Page 6 – Panels 1 and 2: Obsidian talks Roy back from being the zombified Omega Lantern.
Page 6 – Panel 5: As Superman attempts to rescue Flash, Machinehead stops him.
Page 6 – Panel 6: Thomas Wayne goads Machinehead; it was revealed in the previous issue that Machinehead was behind Thomas Wayne’s involvement in this crisis.
Page 7 – Panels 1 and 2: Machinehead blames Wayne for not only his disfigurement but the attack on his reality that was caused by the FLASHPOINT event. As the only surviving remnant of that timeline, Machinehead wants to take his revenge on Wayne.
Page 7 – Panel 5: Like the other members of Injustice Incarnate, Machinehead blames the heroes of Earth-0 for all their respective Earth’s crises.
Page 7 – Panel 6: Wayne recites the names of his son’s children, ie those he has taken under his wing over the years. In order they are Dick Grayson, the first Robin; Jason Todd, the second Robin; Tim Drake, the third Robin; Stephanie Brown aka Spoiler; Cassandra Cain aka Orphan; Duke Thomas aka The Signal; and Damian Wayne, the current Robin.
Page 7 – Panel 8: Wayne is as stubborn as Earth-0’s Batman.
Page 8 – Panel 1: Superman arrives and takes out Machinehead with one punch.
Page 8 – Panel 2: Something tells me Wayne wasn’t distracting Machinehead to buy time for Superman.
Page 8 – Panels 4 and 5: Superman flies toward the prison that holds the Flash . . .
Page 9 – Panel 1: . . . and smashes through it.
Page 9 – Panel 3: The Flash is finally free and roars out of his prison.
Page 9 – Panel 5: The Flash appears to take the hand of someone, or perhaps simply sees himself touching the hand of the person he’s been chasing in his vision.
Page 9 – Panel 6: And like that, he shoots into the sky, breaking through the Multiversal barrier that had been put in place.
Pages 10 and 11: And the whole thing explodes.
Page 12 – Panel 1: When the light settles, we can see the chains have all vanished, presumably meaning the worlds in the Multiverse are now safe.
Page 12 – Panel 2: Heroes and villains alike stare at the sky. Left to right are Mary Marvel; Magog; Superwoman; Superdoom; Jokero; and Aquawoman.
Page 12 – Panel 3: Bones has returned to his suit and tie after being knocked out by Jade in the previous issue. Cameron Chase is clearly bored with him.
Page 12 – Panel 4: Left to right are Wildcat; GL Scott; Atom Smasher; Obisidian hugging Jade; Power Girl; and Damage.
Page 12 – Panels 5 and 6: Finally, Roy Harper appears to be free of the black power ring.
Page 13 – Panel 1: Ever the buzzkill, Darkseid sums up what’s gone wrong for him, at least. In the background, Psycho-Pirate looks worried.
Page 13 – Panel 3: Psycho-Pirate escapes saying he’s “needed in another event” which is a nod to his sometime ability to break the fourth wall and be aware of his own existence as a comic book character.
Page 13 – Panel 4: Machinehead has recovered from the punch from Superman and seeks to take Psycho-Pirate’s place as Darkseid’s lackey.
Page 14 – Panel 1: Darkseid is unimpressed and simply kills Machinehead.
Page 14 – Panel 3: Superman attacks in retaliation, but Darkseid . . .
Page 15 – Panels 1 to 4: . . . sends out his Omega beams and strikes both heroes and villains.
Page 15 – Panels 5 and 6: And despite Superman’s threats to return with an army, Darkseid sends him on his way also.
Page 16 – Panel 2: And just like that, the heroes of Justice Incarnate are returned to the House of Heroes. Superman; Mary Marvel; Aquawoman; Thomas Wayne and Captain Carrot on the ground, with Harbinger’s big AI head floating above them, now back online and under their control again.
Page 16 – Panel 4: And Superman’s new mission is to find the Flash and the crack in the Omniverse before Darkseid. This will be continued in JUSTICE LEAGUE INCARNATE.
Page 17 – Panel 2: A bar on Earth-0, a few days later where the general public are chatting about the Multiverse.
Page 17 – Panel 2: A can of Multiverse Beer which is being discussed by Cameron Chase and Roy Harper.
Page 17 – Panel 4: Chase’s new mission, like that of the Totality, is to keep an eye on the Multiverse.
Page 18 – Panel 1: Chase is now heading up the DEO.
Page 18 – Panel 2: The Justice Society of America and the Totality discover things are mostly back to normal, though Earth-Omega is now hidden. The characters are roughly in columns around the central console. Left most column, top to bottom, is Obsidian; Power Girl; Atom Smasher. Next is Jade; GL Scott; Mary Marvel. Next is Damage; Vandal Savage; Lex Luthor; and Hawkgirl. Last is Talia al Ghul; and Mr Terrific.
Page 18 – Panel 3: This is Checkmate. Left to right are Green Arrow; Steve Trevor; Mr Bones; Lois Lane; The Question; and Manhunter.
Page 19 – Panels 1 to 5: Chase explains that Bones showed her different versions of herself from the Multiverse; this happened right back in issue #1, though we didn’t see the images at that point. This seems to clarify her statement in issue #2, Page 4 – Panel 2 where she said “I’m not paranoid about the Multiverse… unless someone gives me reason to be.“
Page 19 – Panels 6 and 7: Chase realised that she could be the best version of herself available in the Multiverse.
Page 19 – Panel 9: Roy is determined to find Lian and get back to living.
Page 19 – Panel 10: And part of that is connecting with the Titans at Titans Tower.
Page 20 – Panel 1: We’re back on Earth-Omega with Darkseid narrating.
Page 20 – Panel 2: Darkseid still has the black power ring.
Page 20 – Panel 3: X-Tract agrees to become his new right hand.
Page 20 – Panel 4: Darkseid’s family. Left to right are Steppenwolf; Desaad; Kalibak; Grail; and Granny Goodness.
Page 21 – Panel 1: Despite all the emphasis placed on the black lantern ring in previous issues, Darkseid simply crushes it. The “all” he refers to are his family.
Page 21 – Panel 2: The Empty Hand, the massively powerful enemy revealed at the end of MULTIVERSITY and who was involved in the destruction of something called “Multiverse-2” of which more in a moment.
Page 21 – Panel 4: The Upside-Down Man, a being of dark magic that fought against the Justice League Dark.
Page 21 – Panel 5: Darkseid reveals Earth-Omega is not a world, but a piece of “a resting enemy, dormant since the first Crisis.“
Page 21 – Panel 6: Eclipso with his black diamond. In the post-FLASHPOINT DCU, he’s a dark entity from Gemworld, somewhat different from his appearance in THE DARKNESS WITHIN.
Page 21 – Panel 8: Nekron, the lord of the dead, creator of the black lantern rings, and antagonist of THE BLACKEST NIGHT.
Page 21 – Panel 9: The other beings of evil shown on this page are those that Darkseid knows will seek the power of this dormant enemy which is why Darkseid still plans to use Flash to open the crack in the Omniverse and control the enemy known as . . .
Pages 22 and 23: . . . the Great Darkness.
Page 24 – Panels 3 and 4: After exploding out of the prison, Flash finally comes to remember who imprisoned him, and what he now has to do.
Page 25 – Panel 3: And come to a stop he does, with a crash.
Page 25 – Panel 7: Flash died way back in the original Crisis which is probably why he recognises the place where he’s landed.
Pages 26 and 27: Above the ruined landscape are a string of Earths disappearing into the distance, an infinite number of them. A speaker tells Flash that this is Multiverse-2, the multiverse that existed pre-Crisis, upon which the Empty Hand and its army The Gentry have been feeding forcing the speaker to watch worlds being destroyed.
Page 28 – Panel 1: This is Pariah, one of the original protagonists of CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS. The Anti-Monitor destroyed this original multiverse in the Crisis; Alexander Luthor Jr attempted to find the perfect world in INFINITE CRISIS, and now Darkseid wishes to control the multiverse. Pariah appears to have found a different solution. Pariah last appeared in the VILLAINS UNITED miniseries that led into INFINITE CRISIS; it was in VILLAINS UNITED that Pariah was killed by Alexander Luthor Jr.
Page 28 – Panel 1: Pariah mentions a “real multiverse” and touches Flash.
Page 29 – Pages 1 to 4: The disintegration of the Flash is reminiscent of his demise in CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #8.
Page 29 – Panel 5: Only this time, there’s no death for the Flash.
Page 30 – Panel 1: Instead, we’re on Earth-Flash.1, the implication being that this is an Earth just for the Flash. Around the table (starting at the bottom left then working clockwise around it) are Don Allen; Iris Allen; Dawn Allen; the Flash; Wallace West (sitting on Flash’s lap); Nora West; Kid Flash; and the Flash (Jay Garrick).
Page 30 – Panel 2: And Pariah watches over Earth-Flash.1.
Crisis on Earth-Prime 